Aziz Ansari photographed in a suit & tie by Dale May, in New York City

What do you miss the most about living in New York City?The spontaneity and fun. I love the city so much. Other than friends and family, my favorite things are New York and stand-up. I love doing comedy in New York—I can do way more stand-up here than in Los Angeles.

How are the two scenes different?Here on Tuesdays at midnight there's a packed room at a show. In L.A., there are just fewer opportunities to do shows. Here, I can do three a night easily, and when I'm trying to write stuff, that's what I like to do.

You debuted some new material at the Bell House last December. What's it about?I'm 28 years old, and a lot of my friends are getting married and having babies, and it all seems like a terrible idea. Why would anyone get married and have babies? That's the dumbest idea I've ever heard in my life. Or the scariest thing I've ever heard in my life.

You're known for being a big foodie. What are some of your favorite places for dining out in NYC?I love Torrisi Italian Specialties(250 Mulberry St between Prince and Spring Sts; 212-965-0955, piginahat.com) and its new sister restaurant, Parm(248 Mulberry St between Prince and Spring Sts; 212-965-0955, parmnyc.com). I went to Parm for New Year's Eve, and they did a tasting menu that was very delicious, with lasagna and this mozzarella that they do at Torrisi—it was so good. And Masten Lake(285 Bedford Ave between Grand and South 1st Sts, Williamsburg, Brooklyn; 718-599-5565) is incredible. I can't remember where it is—it was on the corner of delicious and tasty.

One of the things that separatesParks and Recfrom a lot of other sitcoms is that the humor isn't rooted in mean-spiritedness—the characters seem to like each other.People say that a lot about the show, and I think that tone is something that developed as we went along. It's become the voice of the show. I like that it's our thing, and it's different.

Does that align with your sense of humor?Sometimes, yeah. Even in my stand-up, there's a lot more positivity and enthusiasm rather than negative, I-hate-everything vibes.

The show is also very character driven—almost every person on the show has gone through these big story arcs since season one, which you don't always find in sitcoms.Yeah, it's crazy. If you think back to the first season, who would have ever thought that, like, April and Andy were going to get married? [People grow to] like all the characters, and it's interesting to see where they're going to go in their lives.

Your character, Tom Haverford, had a particularly eventful season—he left the parks department to start Entertainment 720, but came back once that venture failed.What's great about having a role like that is that you do this character for so many episodes, and you get dialed in on who this guy is and see how this character changes through so many things in their lives. If you do a movie, you're just a guy for an hour and a half.